1. Selling Self Storage Online

2. Concepts of selling the product are the same
Hard to create active dialogue with a customer online
They may be deliberately avoiding engagement
Hard to pick up on personal nuances online
No body language or verbal cues to work with
Online communication can be truncated
Engage the customer
Understand customers’ needs
Propose solution to customer
Overcome objections
Close the sale
Limited opportunity for questions and answers
Customer can have incorrect pre-conceptions
Information on websites is not always clear – Pricing?
Has to be solid and based on customer’s need as limited opportunity for dialogue to amend
Objections may never be communicated
Customer dealing with multiple businesses at once
Customer may not want to appear ignorant or stupid
Ability to close the sale online
Online payment
Online reservation
Full online booking
Secure commitment

3. Online customer psychology
Online customers like to feel they are in control of the process. They view their data and time as an investment into the process. If they give you data, they are making the first step in committing to your business so they expect something back. The more time they spend engaged with your business online the more likely they are to store with you.

4. Converting into phone enquiries
Many operators try and convert web enquiries into phone calls
Call the customer rather than
Require phone number to send
Phone customer back rather than
This is fine for some customers but others do not want to engage via phone, this is why they contacted you onlne

5. Make it easy
The challenge for operators is to provide an online sales experience that is simple and easy but yet still gets the information and level of security required. There tends to be 4 main approaches within self storage
No online reservation at all, must contact the store to book or get prices.
Allow reservation online but no deposit taken, not allocated to availability
Take deposit online, may or may not be tied into availability
Complete entire process online including contract and payment
Usually this also allows for ongoing payments and adjustments online

6. Who has their prices online?
Shurgard only major with prices available to everyone
64% of customers surveyed said having prices online would have significantly assisted their decision to purchase self storage.
Only 6% said it would not be of any benefit to them.

7. Online Pricing
Operators putting their prices online is a contentious issue within the industry.
The customer wants to see prices online.
If you don’t, and your competitors do, then you could lose custom because of this.
Customers do not really understand the product so could end up commoditising it and buying purely on price.
Aggregators can trawl your website and pull prices off it.

8. Is there a compromise?
Don’t list your prices online where anyone can see them. Give your prices out, or a specific price for a customer, after they have given you something first, such as an or phone number. Don’t ask for too much information as this will drive the customer away. Make sure you use that information to contact them quickly even if they do not complete the process online.
Put all the questions you want to know on one screen, don’t tease them one question at a time.

9. Who has the facility to book or reserve a unit online?
Shurgard only major with prices available to everyone

10. Online Bookings
The easiest way to convert an online enquiry is to give them an means to complete the transaction online.
EASY

11. Online Bookings
Completing the transaction does not necessarily mean going through the whole sign up process. It means getting to the point where the customer has committed to you.
Reserve a unit
Place a deposit on a unit (Refundable?)
Generally, once a person has made a payment, even if refundable, they have at mentally committed to the sale

12. Online Bookings
The technology is available to complete the entire booking process online.
Make the payment online
Book a unit based on availability
Change price based on availability / time / other factors
Check ID
Complete the contract
We still recommend checking the ID in person when the person first moves in
You can offer this service to people after they have reserved their unit online

13. Complete the contract online
Customers can complete the contract online using digital signatures and acknowledgment of contract
It is best to walk them through the key points of the contract step by step
You may choose to get them to sign a paper contract when they move in

14. Validate their ID
There are numerous systems online that validate a customers ID credentials against various databases
Contego is one of the most powerful online ID verification systems and is available in Sweden

15. Contego
Contego checks document numbers against government lists of fraudulent documents. It also checks the address and name provided match other listings for this address in a huge range of databases. There are other simpler and cheaper options also available.

16. Payment www.paysafe.com
When taking payments online make sure you are PCI compliant This means no storing of CVV numbers for future payments There are many online payment systems that can take future payments from cards using payment gateways They can even take future payments and change monthly amounts

17. Online Bookings
Your website should have a means of a customer securing a unit online Ideally also paying a deposit to do so While not all customers who enquire online will use the service, it will greatly improve your conversion rate and opens up more options to engage the customer

18. The Millennials are coming!
Millennials are starting to have families. They are moving into the demographic that needs storage.
They are the online generation.
They don’t talk to people on the phone!